Back in 2011, The Spin was lucky enough to visit Bangladesh for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup. It was a night of music and fireworks for Bangabandhu, captains paraded through the stadium in gold-plated rickshaws, and the one carrying South Africa’s Graeme Smith hilariously broke down. Bryan Adams also performed three of his hits in one of the Canadian’s most eclectic commissions.

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Despite some personal envy the next morning towards Patrick Kidd in The Times, who wondered whether the summer of 1969 had really been ‘six for nine’, and thus an allusion to Michael Clarke’s career-best bowling figures in test, the evening turned out to be quite inspiring. The streets of Dhaka were blocked and filled with crackling electricity; a clear hello world message accompanied by a chorus of car horns.

There was no such fanfare in India this year, with organizers instead opting for a low-key approach, sending all 10 captains to Ahmedabad for a press conference the day before the first game (and no doubt leaving sponsor Aramco happy with the fuel consumption). And at that press conference, in addition to the subtleties and news of Ben Stokes’ injury, a photo emerged of Temba Bavuma seemingly asleep in his chair.

South Africa’s Relaxed Approach in the  Cricket World Cup 2023

To be fair, Bavuma had just arrived from a grueling late return home to South Africa to attend to an urgent family matter. He also subsequently insisted that the image, which delighted wags on social media, was a clever angle that made it appear as if his eyes had closed rather than actually being whisked away to the land of nods.

But what if there is something more involved; what if Bavuma’s slide from his chair says something about South Africa’s current prospects? Four years ago, the Proteas failed to emerge from the group stage and, as many diagnosed, erase the agonizing semi-final defeat to New Zealand in 2015 from their system. Still, at least from a distance, something feels different this time – like they might not care, and they’re better for it.

Only a clear mind can come up with such an opening gambit as turning Feroz Shah Kotla into a robbery dome last Saturday. The flat pitch was put to perfect use against recent Asian Cup finalists Sri Lanka; 428 out of five points scored is the highest score ever seen at a men’s world championship. Record three centuries from Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram scored it, Markram becoming the fastest in the tournament’s history with just 49 balls. Hello, Cricket World Cup.

South Africa’s Pyrotechnics: Setting the Cricket World Cup Ablaze

And it wasn’t a complete shock. While some teams have taken a break from 50-over cricket in recent times – South African cricket has even done its bit to ease the existential angst by staging a one-day international series in Australia for its new SA20 league – the Proteas, i.e. first team , were released. Over the last 18 months, their ODI runs have been 6.54 per over, and the Pyrotechnics last week achieved their seventh score of 300-plus in 17 innings and their second score of 400. They have something going on.

The impact of the 2015 semi-final, which broke hearts in the semi-final and had more than a hint of administrative abuse, should not underestimated. AB de Villiers once told me that he is broke by this, caught up in the belief that World Cups define a career, which, given the status of the player, underlines this. But the shadow has receded and only two remain alive – De Kock and David Miller – and the line-up seems uncomplicated these days. For more about India Cricket World Cup Tickets fully discounted prices on our website.

De Kock, who turns 31 in December, is the jewel in the batting crown and has the air of a guy with nothing to lose. To be honest, the left-hander has always played sluggishly, his movements are as oily as his eyes, sad. But after declaring his intention to retire from ODIs after this Cricket World Cup (full-time T20 specialization after retiring from Tests at the end of 2021) and after 11 years in South African cricket politics, there is complete clarity.

South Africa’s Midas Touch: Markram, Klaasen, and a Bond Beyond Cricket

Palindromic Markram is another way of looking at the world. A former top-tier prodigy who went undefeated for a long time, he has blossomed into a formidable mid-level player at 29 years of age. Van der Dussen was the glue number 3 and in Heinrich Klaasen they have half of a powerful middle order along with Miller. Klaasen’s 83-ball, 174-run attack on Australia at Centurion last month – one that helped turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 shellacking – is likely to get a mention when the two teams meet in Lucknow this Thursday.

Anrich Nortje’s loss of pace is certainly a blow, but the varied attack remains led by the enduring brilliance of Kagiso Rabada. At the other end of the spectrum in terms of experience is 23-year-old Gerald Coetzee, a fast pacer who bowls less politely than his surname suggests but is unlikely to overwhelmed by the pressure of silverware. I’m a man who loves cricket, he told earlier this year. My identity is not about cricket, it is about who I am as a person and my relationship with God and my family.

Neil Manthorpe, who like few others has taken the pulse of South African cricket over the years, notes that under the stoic Bavuma’s leadership a strong bond has developed in response to years of players failing under dysfunctional boards. Test cricket has sadly relegated to the margins, but the advent of the SA20 and its lucrative contracts has also provided the wider financial security that had hitherto been the preserve of the big guns.

South Africa’s Subcontinental Sojourn: Projecting Success

All of this, of course, could be a case of projecting one game into the Subcontinental Cricket World Cup, where they might be on the sidelines against Keshav Maharaj. Reach the semi-finals and, as Bavuma himself said, only winning this match will stop the criminally abused tag of a suffocating exit from resurfacing. If Klaasen can clear his airway at the end of this marathon event, it may become known as the Heinrich maneuver.

But, if you’ll excuse the previous sentence, South Africa really does look different this time around; certainly in better shape than Smith’s rickety rickshaw back in the day.

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